HAPPY HALLOWEEN

HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A FUN (AND A LITTLE SPOOKY) HALLOWEEN!

Ella in her pumpkin dress (thanks Grandma Margaret!)

Ella in her official costume (she's a lamb, if you're not quite sure)

A bunch of new firsts

Ella has been very busy lately. Just in the last 4 or 5 days she has popped in her first tooth, begun standing on her own a little, and waving! Nothing comes slow for this girl. Gotta do it all at once! Seth and I have been waiting on the first tooth for quite a while.... and it popped in with no fuss at all. We weren't expecting it but there it was! And the waves are so fun - she showed off at church yesterday, distracting quite a few people with it. The standing thing is just the beginning I'm sure - walking won't be too far behind.

Our cute little tree

Our street is lined with beautiful old maple trees, and they're at their best this time of year. The leaves on all the big guys are starting to change colors now, but our little tree was way ahead of them this year. When we moved into our house 2 years ago, we were the only house without a maple tree or 2 in the yard, so we planted one..... he's a teeny guy compared to the others and has lots of catching up to do, but he definitely stands out right now with his bright orange leaves!

Play Date

It's been almost a week since we met up with the Seavers at the park.... but I just loaded the pictures onto the computer, so didn't blog about it until now. Ella and I met up with Des, Dakota and Ellianna at Mission Park for a play date. Des is now staying at home with her kids so we're hoping to have more play dates. Dakota is 3 and talking up a storm, and he loves to swing! Ella did a little swinging too, but really just wanted me to let her down to crawl and investigate all the rocks, leaves and other small things she could put in her mouth. Ellianna was happy hanging out on her blanket, and sleeping part of the time - which is handy for her mom, so she can push big brother Dakota on the swings! The weather was beautiful - nice to take advantage of it before the snow flies!

10 Months

10 months gone by already! We are on a short countdown to the big 1st birthday.... time to start planning the party. Ella is motoring all over the place - at least where we'll let her. Still no walking or standing on her own, but all in good time. We can see how fun her birthday and Christmas will be.....she just loves to dig into and play with big boxes. Grandma Margaret and Aunt Maia sent a bunch of adorable clothes recently (THANK YOU!), and Ella has had the most fun helping us open the boxes and go through what's inside. She's also enjoyed going through my little pantry/cupboard in the in the kitchen, and sorting through some of the spices in the rack on the door. I'm hoping she'll keep up the interest and be my helper in the kitchen in the future!

a new box of diapers is the most exciting thing ever!

helping to rearrange the cupboard

New hat and mitten combo from Grandma - so cute!

Much Better

Ella's back to her good old feisty self this week. Her rash disappeared this weekend and she seemed to be back to normal by Sunday. She even spent the morning in the nursery at church while Seth and I went to the 10:30 service! It's so nice to have our girl back!

Wow, the Cougs stink this year......

Seth, Ella and I were all crying watching the game on Saturday.

Poor thing

Ella seems to have caught her first sickness. Just about 2 weeks ago, she seemed to have a runny nose, but it only lasted a few days. Then, about a week later, she ran a fever for a few days. Then yesterday, we got her up in the morning and found a rash on her back, tummy and chest. Today it was worse in the morning, but seems to have gotten better throughout the day. Since this is the first time she's been sick really, I have talked to the doctor's office twice in as many days. The rash thing just threw us, but they told us it's not uncommon for a baby to break out in a rash toward the end of being sick. The good thing is the rash doesn't bother her at all and she does seem to be feeling better and better. Hopefully the spots will be gone in the next couple days and we'll have our baby girl back.

We took our pumpkin to the pumpkin patch....

We drove to Green Bluff - just north of Spokane - this afternoon. The area has all sorts of small farms with u-pick fruit, veggies, fall activities and goodies. We were hoping for better weather, so almost stayed home, but ended up being so happy we went. It was fun! Came home with a couple pumpkins, some corn stalks for the front steps and a bunch of yummy apples. Time to make applesauce! Oh, and we made it home with one remaining pumpkin donut - they're made fresh at one of the farms and people line up for them. Delish! Ella always loves being out and about, and we of course couldn't resist the photo opps, especially in the pumpkin patch.......

Thanks guys!

Zac & Kristen had us out to dinner at their place last night! It was yummy - thanks so much!

Doctor's Report

Ella had her 9 month check-up yesterday, and all is well. She weighed in at a whopping 16 pounds! Still in the 5th percentile (she's a petite thing), which I appreciate more and more now. We know she's healthy and being able to tote her around without breaking our backs sure is so great! The doctor gave her a clean bill of health, so we're very thankful for that.